Keene
CLYVE
“JUST TELL me already if I’m dying or not. That’s all I wanted to know, doc. Trust me, I can handle it,” Keene said, trying his best to be calm, but I didn’t miss the slight trembling of his voice and the pain in his eyes as he looked at the old doctor.
The wrinkles on the Pulmonologist’s forehead deepened. “I’m sorry, Keene-”
At that exact moment, Keene gasped and his body stiffened. I thought my eyes were tricking me as I watched his face become paler and yellowish.
I couldn’t anymore watch this-how he sagged to the chair across from his doctor. Westley hugged her best friend tightly, saying that they could do it. It was a heartbreaking moment.
“How?” he choked. “How long do I have left?”
“Don’t, Keene,” I said firmly. “You’re not gonna die. Men traveled to the moon, invented a technology that is almost impossible, experts develop advanced medicines, and you, Westley, and I will go to New York and find the best treatment for you. That’s what we gonna do.”
“You don’t have cancer,” Dr. Marlee cut in.
“I just wanna-”
“Not a word, Keene, please.” My voice almost shook. I grabbed the file from the table.
“Wait! What?” My voice and Keene’s rose in vocal pitch, staring at the doctor incredulously.
I closed my eyes for a brief moment. Oh, thank, God.
“But-”
Fuck me! Of course, there was a but.
“Keene, what you are suffering from is a lifetime illness. It runs in your family,” he explained why Keene was experiencing fatigue, shortness of breath, and weight loss. You’d been suffering from a genetic disorder called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency and Asthma for years. And it had something to do with his parents’ faulty gene.”
You’re not gonna die, mate.
I hated talking about dying in any way. It was unavoidable though because death was apparently a pain in the arse.
I could barely process as Dr. Marlee explained Keene’s case. There was no doubt Keene had inherited it from his father who died of Lung cancer which made them worry about the worse possible diagnosis.
Now, it scared the living shit out of me how my father died?
“Is there a treatment?” I asked.
“I advise that he should do a liver biopsy, or MRI just to ratify my initial diagnosis first. Although there’s an Augmentation therapy or so-called replacement therapy.”
“Great. We’ll do it there.”
“I would agree with Mr. Linton since we have limited resources for diagnostic tests in our hospital. I already prepare a medical report as requested by Miss Westley via email.”
“I attached the latest report of your latest X-ray, including the CAT scan and the blood test we did,” he added. “I don’t wanna scare you, Keene, but I want to be honest with you. For some people like you with ATT, it can cause you to have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease without proper treatment, which is a serious condition. You need to keep your liver healthy, too. Avoid alcohol, smoke, dust, exercise daily and practice a healthy diet. You need to be vaccinated. So you better get the treatment. The sooner, the better. Hopefully, you’ll be able to work again. In the main time, you continue with your bronchodilator.”
I stood up from the chair while Dr. Marlee was still explaining to Keene. I faced the white wall with a poster of Lung’s anatomy and frames of his academic achievements. He seemed to know what he was doing, but New York-Presbyterian had a lung transplant program for advanced and end-stage lung disease. Just in case.
I ran my fingers against the lungs anatomy model placed on top of the display table as I thought of Keene.
The travel for almost three hours to get into this hospital was just a waste of time. And I fucking hated it, when in the end, they still couldn’t help Keene.
A soft knock interrupted us. Then a middle-aged female nurse emerged. “Sorry for the interruption. Dr. Marlee, you have a phone call from line two.” The nurse quickly left, closing the door behind her.
Dr. Marlee hooked his eyeglasses and ran his fingers through his graying hair. He then grabbed the phone and answered.
I averted my gaze to Keene and Westley. I wasn’t aware she was already looking at me. Then as if her cue, she nodded.
I fished out my phone and type a message to my mum.
CC: We’ll proceed with the plan.
Mum: No good morning?
I smiled despite the bad news we just received. I missed her so much, but she was busy with her job and managing the charity she founded for my dad’. I was grateful that she finally stopped drinking. The last thing I wanted was for her to be ruined the reason why she left Dad.
CC: Can’t say well when it’s not. Can you help us?
Mum: Anything for my baby.
CC: Mum, I’m too old to be a baby.
Mum: You lack a sense of humor.
I chuckled because I knew she was true.
Mum: She must be something special.
CC: Who?
Mum: I may be old, but I’m not dumb. So, see you soon? You’re coming with them, right?
CC: Yeah, I have to. And I missed my arse of a brother. Love you, Mum.
Mum: Love you, honey.
When I turned back, Keene was shaking hands with Dr. Marlee. “Thank you, doc.”
“Don’t thank me, son. I hardly even helped you. Go home and take a rest. You need your energy to travel to New York.”
* * *
I HONESTLY didn’t know how to make someone feel better when he just figured he had a potentially life-threatening disease. I felt weak that I couldn’t do anything to help him. I just met Keene a few days ago, but I felt in my gut that I wanted to shoulder his burden with him. He was a good person, and he didn’t deserve to suffer.
Westley neither said a word. I knew it was hard for her as well. I could feel that she was holding on tight not to burst into a cry. She wanted to be strong in front of her best friend, but deep inside, she was scared of losing Keene or traveling outside this town.
I parked the car in front of the house. I was damn tired of clumping my mouth shut not to say how sorry I was for Keene. I was not yet ready to say those two words to him; we still had a bigger chance. I turned off the engine. Westley hopped down before I could help her out.
“A minute, Clyve?” Keene’s low voice stopped me from the door handle.
“Of course, mate.” I watched Westley look at us in confusion, then she smiled tightly as if she understood. She stepped up to the porch and sat on her swing. The sadness in those eyes made me want to scream and blame whoever should be blamed.
“You know once Westley travels back to New York can possibly put her life at risk, right?” A New Yorker, indeed, and that scared her.
I faced him. “And you wanted to die without a fight just to keep her safe? Is that what she really wants? Because by the look of her right now, she’s willing to give her life to you.”
His expression tightened as he glared at me. “You don’t know-”
“Yes, I don’t or I might know something, Keene.” I shrugged. “Her father might be an influential dickbag, I get it, but he doesn’t own the entire New York City or the United Kingdom. Don’t you think if he wanted her dead, he couldn’t find you both? This place exists in the Google map, you existed in the database once you were admitted to the hospital. Her family doesn’t care about her because she’s just a brat who wants to humiliate her family.”
Keene’s eyes widened. “How the hell did you know about that?”
“Don’t worry, it’s not in the local news.” I opened the door. “Her secret is safe with me.”
“Wait.”
“What?”
“If-”
“You’re not gonna die.”
“Clyve, I’ve been suffering from this freaking disease for years, and she knows it. What happened earlier was just the same diagnosis I heard over and over again, and I’m not getting better, man.”
I hopped down and ignored him. “Then get out of this fucking car.”
He shook his head in amusement. “Being a control freak doesn’t suit you. I need some rest.”
“Call me if you need anything.”
“I’m good. Thank you.”
“Move your arse.” I gestured to Westley to give me space on her swing once Keene was inside the house.
“This won’t hold for both of us.” The sadness in her voice almost gave me a shiver.
“It will.” I sat beside her as soon as I had my space. I gripped her knee, hoping it was enough to tell her that she was not alone in her battle. “I like it here. So peaceful. I was angry at my brother when he threw me somewhere I hadn’t even heard of a town called Jasmine Springs. It changed everything the moment I set foot and saw those trees for the first time. I thought this place was a little paradise. I can stay here for a long time, you know.”
“So do I. I love it being here. The tall trees, fresh air, the smell of wildflowers, and those folks, they never judged me. I have the freedom to explore without them watching and scrutinizing every move I make and every word I say. And that lake means something to me.”
“That must be hard…” I looked at her beautiful face. “Being judged.”
“You have no idea, especially when you’re already branded as the black sheep.”
“I am also a black sheep.”
“It’s not because you want attention, Linton. I always felt jealous of my sister. She’s the perfect one; stunning, tall, and the perfect daughter in the eye of the public.” She looked down. “Quite my opposite.”
I held her chin up. “Hey, look at me.” Then she met my gaze. “The woman you described is pretty boring. You’re perfect because you have flaws. You don’t try hard because you’re just being you. You don’t have to please those idiots to see how perfect you are. And that makes you perfect in my eyes.”
Jesus, her eyes-so expressive. And she didn’t seem to care anymore to show what she felt.
I saw her vulnerability more than once, but now I saw the real her; the dilation of her pupils, the darkening of her deep ocean-blue irises the longer she stared at me, and I could lose in those orbs forever and never wanted to return. And she feels something towards me as well.
She enveloped her hand over mine, kissing my palm. The softness of her lips electrified my body, and sent a zing of sensation that I always felt while watching her in front of the camera, but this time she was here with me.
She’s real.
With tentative movement, I feathered my thumb over the bottom of her lip that I was always tempted to feel against my lips. My breathing was trapped in my lungs when she parted her lips.
“Kiss me like how you mean it, like how your desires urged you while you were watching me through the screen, Dangerouslyaddictive10,” she said between rasps breathing.
“Don’t test me, Westley.”
“Then show me.”
Bloody fuck!